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Undeveloped stretch of old South Park Street in Kalamazoo to be vacated for development

south park development.png

Pictured are the plans for the development at old South Park Street between West Emerson and West Maple Street. The section of the street between 1719 and 1826 old S. Park St. will be vacated at the request of developer Park Place of Kalamazoo, LLC, which is constructing an office park that will contain up to three buildings, surface parking lots, a walking trail system and a water retention pool.
(Courtesy)

View full sizeThe 270-foot section of old South Park Street that will be vacated to allow for the development of an office park is marked in black.Courtesy

KALAMAZOO, MI — A 270-foot undeveloped section of old South Park Street in Kalamazoo will be vacated to make room for a new office park following approval from city commissioners Monday.

The area between 1719 and 1826 old S. Park St. will be vacated at the request of developer Park Place of Kalamazoo, LLC, which is constructing an office park that will contain up to three buildings, surface parking lots, a walking trail system and a water retention pool. The stretch of road lies between West Emerson Street and West Maple Street.

The developer is constructing an addition to its building currently occupied by Rx Optical at 1718 old S. Park St. Park Place also owns a pumping station at 1825 S. Park St. and 3.3 acres of vacant land at 1800 S. Park St, which abuts the pumping station property. The new office park is being planned for the vacant land and a portion of the pumping station.

The new development will be an extension of the existing facility occupied by Rx Optical and Park Place's office building. One or more of the buildings may be utilized by Rx Optical or other new tenants.

"What this allows us to do is make a campus with walking trails intersecting it versus making a really big parking lot in the middle of the neighborhood," said Matt Fletcher, a Park Place representative. "I'm all on Kalamazoo, Michigan with this plan here.

"I've lived here my whole life, I'm 46 and I've pretty much been waiting to do something with this much integrity that could really change people's lives," Fletcher added.

The city assessor calculated the fair market value of the street segment at $14,760, which Park Place has agreed to pay to acquire the property, according to a document prepared for commissioners by assistant city planner Robert Bauckham.

Commissioners also approved to rezone the segment from a residential, single-dwelling district to a to a commercial, office district.

The street segment currently generates no tax revenue for the city, but is now taxable after being combined with Park Place's current property. The value of the new office park and site improvements has been estimated at $3.2 million, which will generate roughly $36,000 in annual revenue, Bauckham said in the memo.

Additionally, the development is expected to create up to 150 jobs when completed.

Commissioner Barbara Miller was one of three commissioners who thanked Fletcher for the development and said she was glad to see the land become part of the city's tax roll.

"It's just really exciting to see this happening in Kalamazoo," Miller said.

This is the second street vacation city commissioners have approved recently. The commission also approved the vacation of 337 feet of Lafayette Avenue at West Michigan Avenue during its July 21 meeting. That land will be used to create parking space for the ongoing development of a five-story mixed-use building in the area.

Alex Mitchell covers county government and taxes for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Email him at amitche5@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.